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Historical sociolinguistics is a comparatively new area of research, investigating difficult questions about language varieties and choices in speech and writing. Jewish historical sociolinguistics is rich in unanswered questions: when does a language become 'Jewish'? What was the origin of Yiddish? How much Hebrew did the average Jew know over the centuries? How was Hebrew re-established as a vernacular and a dominant language? This book explores these and other questions, and shows the extent of scholarly disagreement over the answers. It shows the value of adding a sociolinguistic perspective to issues commonly ignored in standard histories. A vivid commentary on Jewish survival and Jewish speech communities that will be enjoyed by the general reader, and is essential reading for students and researchers interested in the study of Middle Eastern languages, Jewish studies, and sociolinguistics.

Explores the history of Jewish multilingualism, a vivid commentary on Jewish survival and Jewish speech communities

Examines patterns of language maintenance and shift, including the revival of Hebrew - a discussion relevant to anyone concerned with language endangerment around the world

Explores the relationship between a community's situation and history and the language patterns it develops

Reviews & endorsements

"Spolsky's book is an important addition to the literature of [the] field, a must-have reference for historians of the Jews and scholars of Jewish languages."
Sarah Bunin Benor, Marginalia Review of Books

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Product details

Date Published: May 2014

format: Paperback

isbn: 9781107699953

length: 373pages

dimensions: 227 x 152 x 21 mm

weight: 0.55kg

contains: 11 maps

availability: In stock

Table of Contents

Glossary 1. Is Hebrew an endangered language? 2. The emergence of Hebrew 3. Hebrew-Aramaic bilingualism and competition 4. Three languages in Hellenistic and Roman Palestine 5. From statehood to diaspora 6. The Arabian and African connections 7. The spread of Islam 8. The Jews of France 9. The Jews of Spain and their languages 10. Loter-Ashkenaz and the creation of Yiddish 11. The Yavanic area – Greece and Italy 12. Jews in Slavic lands 13. Linguistic emancipation and assimilation in Europe 14. Britain, its former colonies and the New World 15. Islam and the Orient 16. The return to Zion and Hebrew Appendix: estimated current status of Jewish languages.

Resources for

The Languages of the Jews

Bernard Spolsky

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